Student visa success rates rebound in Australia

Visas to study in Australian universities have become easier to obtain following months of record rejections, newly released Department of Home Affairs (DHA) statistics suggest, but the rebound appears to reflect a slump in processing rather than a turnaround in approvals.

Eighty-three per cent of the applications for higher education visas that were processed in April, after being lodged offshore, proved successful. This compared with approval rates of just 67 per cent in February and 59 per cent in March.

Around 7,400 visas were granted to offshore higher education applicants in April, up from 6,900 in March, even though almost 3,000 fewer applications were processed in April.

The main cause of the improved grant rate appears to be a slowdown in processing of applications from out-of-favour countries in the Indian subcontinent.

The number of Indian applications processed in April was 59 per cent lower than the monthly average in February and March, according to a Times Higher Education analysis of the data. Processing volumes from Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka were down by 67 per cent, 78 per cent and 87 per cent respectively, compared with the earlier months.

The number of visas processed across all other nationalities was higher in April than either February or March, the analysis found.

Bangladesh, India and Nepal carry high immigration risk ratings, and Sri Lanka is deemed moderate risk, following a January update to the national assessment levels. Students from countries with unfavourable risk ratings are often required to supply additional paperwork in their visa applications, and officials tend to regard them with heightened suspicion.

THE asked the department if it was deliberately avoiding processing applications from these four countries. It had not provided a response by publication deadline.

The International Education Association of Australia said DHA visa processing policies and protocols had been “incredibly opaque” for many years. CEO Phil Honeywood said the “official view” was that the department was discharging its legal responsibilities.

“The cynical view is that governments just decide to turn the tap down on visa processing because of geopolitical pressures,” he said. “Clearly, questions need to be asked if the processing rate suddenly takes a nosedive, because this leaves young people in limbo.”

Honeywood said Australia’s non-refundable student visa application fees were “way and above” the most expensive in the world. “Morally, that should come with an expectation that the application is processed in a timely manner,” he said. “Everything we hear from government is that they have a large enough…staff profile to meet the caseload.”

Success rates for the relatively few applications processed from the four South Asian countries improved in April, while remaining relatively low. Approval rates rose from 47 per cent to 55 per cent for Bangladeshis, 49 per cent to 62 per cent for Indians, 27 per cent to 40 per cent for Nepalese and 44 per cent to 84 per cent for Sri Lankans.

Success rates declined from 74 per cent to 66 per cent for Filipinos and 58 per cent to 57 per cent for Pakistanis.

While lodgement of student visa applications varies from month to month, comparisons with earlier years’ figures suggest demand from some key source countries – including China, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka – may be in decline.

Applications from Bangladesh and Nepal appear buoyant despite the rejections.

john.ross@timeshighereducation.com